I went down to my favorite municipal lake to do a little bass fishing and relax for a bit but what I again saw got me steamed. I saw yet another undersized bass kept for the frying pan. I have long suspected a lot of that was going on since I rarely caught a bass more than 10 - 12 inches long (legal minimum is 15) but since I’ve been fishing this lake a lot more than I used to I’m becoming aware just how pervasive the problem is and tonight that one more time just ticked me off. Seeing this ruins the pleasure I used to get out of fishing that lake. I don’t know what to do about it except try to set a good example by releasing all the bass I catch and tell law enforcement they need to patrol the area more.
Thanks for listening & I’m sure lots of you have the very same problem.
This kind of thing happens all the time. When I was at a local pond last weekend, there was a guy who kept a whole stringer of bass (4-5) when the limit is two. That helps explain why I don’t catch very many decent bass in those ponds.
Edit:
I didn’t see it myself. Another guy I was talking with, and giving fly fishing tips too, saw it. I do, however, have the phone # for the conservation department in my phone, should the situation ever come up where I could use it.
About all you can do is notify the local authorities. If it is a municiple pond then I would think the parks and rec folks would want to know. Confronting the individual would probably do no good. I’ve tried that way in the past and was told to mind my own business. But I do not let others ignorance spoil my fishing. Life is too short.
we were fishing at the Klondike river, which borders on the IA & SD border, a couple of weeks ago and watch the DNR bust some kids with a bunch of undersized walleyes. It looked like most of them where already dead, what a waste! I believe the min., length is something like 18" in most of the lakes up in NW., IA. The DNR around my neck of the woods is always on the prowl around here.
MIke
Hi,
I would suggest that you try and get to know the local warden on a first name basis. Ask him for his cell number and when you see this violation or any violation call him or his dispatch with as much info as possible about the violater and his vehicle.
Tom
We have a poaching problem here in NYC too. mostly immigrants from the east, south and west of the USA do this. I have no problem confronting these people. they are adults who will take all & everything our small lakes offer. yeah there is a lot of yelling; mostly from me. but I can not just watch as people walk out of the park with shopping bags of undersized panfish. and it is not as if a bag filled with fish is sufficient. they will return the very next day and repeat the process. I also call the park’s police, the NYC police, the park’s commisioner and any one else who will step up the enforcement of the park’s rule; which is “catch & release only”. when fined it cost $100.00 per fish and it cost one woman $1000.00 for day of fishing plus she didn’t have a license to fish either . if you see something, say something. you don’t need to fight them but notify your local enforcement agency when , where & who you saw. take a picture too if you can.
Bill
You might want to consider putting the IA poaching tip line into your cell phone:
Here’s more info about IA’s program and the #, but most states have similar programs. It looks like IA takes this pretty seriously.
Thanks for all the good replies. Although I believe most people are good there are always a few bad ones who muck it up for everybody. When I see someone keeping an undersized bass I ask them if they know Iowa has a 15 in. minimum. They almost always say they didn’t know, an answer I consider suspect, or say they thought their bass was big enough, an answer which is in IMHO more believable since a lot of people tend to overestimate the size of their fish.
Think that is bad. There’s a local river that really turns on right now for bass, crappie, stripe etc. The only problem is you have to beat the asian and mexican guys down there before they run thier siene net through the whole river a few times a day. They keep everything not matter how small. I’ve seen stringers (25ish fish each) of baby striper (10-12 inches long come out of there. And yes, the local authorities have been informed over and over again. But, they are still there untill they net them all.
Sucks that they get away with it,
Gary
Here in the Island nation of Ohio, our primary poachers are Eastern European (Russian) immigrants. They know enough English to bum bait, cigarettes, a light for the bummed smoke, etc., but when confronted with the facts about limits and slot lengths, they break into Russian and keep repeating “no English, no English,” to which we respond with “Police coming, Police coming,” as we dial 1-800-POACHER here in Ohio. Because of budget cuts, we no longer have enough game protectors to properly control this problem, and the poachers know it. In spite of lack of patrols, we continue to call in the problems along with license plate numbers. Some have been caught and prosecuted, but there are so many violators that it is an ongoing problem.
Gary, Joe
how did you get some of our poachers? I thought the eastern Europeans, Mexicans & Asians were solely a NYC problem. it is a small world! we believe that Asians are responsible for snake heads being introduced into at least two of our lakes. snake heads are considered to be a delicacy in Asia.
Bill
If you carry a cell phone, and most of us do nowadays, put the # to your local authorities in the phonebook. When you see a violation, call them with a smile on your face. Don’t let the violators know who you are calling because it’s easier for them to get busted if they stick around for a while. That’s a tactic we use on one of our more violated local lakes and the police are quick to act. It’s nice to see the bad guys escorted away in steel bracelets. :mrgreen:
I fish quite a bit at a local Wildlife Management Area that has excellent bass, bream and crappie fishing. It is clearly stated in the rules that no live fish of any kind can be used as bait, yet every year I see the same people catching large (8-10 inch) golden shiners to use as bait. I’ve told them many times that this is illegal and they always use the same lie that they asked the Game Warden and he said it was okay. Last year I saw one of these “sportsmen” catch a 12+ lb bass and plunk it into his cooler full of water to take home and eat. I approached him and offered to catch the limit of 15 Crappie and give it to him to eat if he would let the bass go. “Oh no, he said, I want to eat this bass.” I left immediately and bumped into the Game Warden who I have a pretty good relationship with and told him the story. He smiled and said he’d take care of it. The guy not only lost his bass (it was released) he also paid a $100 fine and now the Game Warden keeps an eye out for him. These people know the laws as well as we do; they just don’t care. The one thing they do care about is money and their equipment both of which they will lose if you can help them get caught int he act. Turn them in every time!
Jim Smith
Ah yes, I’ve run into these gentlemenup on the PA Erie tribs, snagging steelhead. They usually show up en masse and “occupy” a large section of stream, crowding out anyone already there. Even at that, if they didnt snag, okay, they’re just ignorant, but add to that the 25 pounds of trash they leave behind and its really aggrivating.
To ice the cake, last March, a pair of them crowded my dad and I out, one snagged a fish which broke him off at the flyline/leader connection, and then he had the nerve to walk up to me and ask me if I could tie another leader on for him! It looked like he stopped and got a ready-to-fish kit from a sporting goods store on the way to the stream, and now he didnt know the knots to get fishing again.
Needless to say, he got no help from me.:mad:
This used to happen to me all the time when I lived in Mass. The mexican immigrants and russian immigrants come from a culture., IMHO, where if you can do it, or get away with it, then it is ok. I could not stand it, but where I come from they all had knives or guns and LOTS of friends so I would usually just leave (you get tired of getting surrounded by an angry mob when you confront people about breaking the law).
Now th only thing I have to worry about is this incredibly good japanese fly fisherman who has cleaned out a couple good holes I fish. He doesnt ever seem to keep anything illegal, but he catches his limit darn near every day and keeps them.
I guess I am just jealous I cant catch that many fish on such a regular basis…
Man what shame. A real sportsman would just have to be upset to see such a thing. In my neck of the woods the Game Wardens are always making there presence known around the salt water fishing areas. But when it comes to the freshwater , such as lakes and creeks , I never see them checking for illegal fish. They seem to busy looking for drunk boaters and speeding kids on jetskis. I do see illegal fish leave the water , thats for sure , but wonder if its just a matter of priority vs. manpower. I do think that fisherman , and fly fisherman in particular are very good at taking care of the waters they fish and following guidlines set down just for that purpose. Hey , maybe one day we good guys will out number those that are not. Just my 2 cents.
Speaking of this topic. Just noticed this news article on the Wy G&F website.
CASPER-- Game and Fish Department law enforcement officers issued 27 citations and 24 warnings for a total of $4,630 in fines for fishing and boating violations at Glendo Reservoir over Memorial Day weekend.
The special Law Enforcement Task Force, made up of nine game wardens, was in place to address the large boating crowds at Glendo on holiday weekends. However, cool rainy weather kept boating violations to a minimum and most citations issued were for fishing violations.
“The number one violation was for over-the-limit of fish,” said Glenrock Game Warden Gary Boyd. “We issued 13 citations and seized 222 walleye from anglers who had too many fish.” One group of four anglers from Colorado and Utah had 45 walleye, and another group of six anglers from Colorado had 71. The possession limit for walleye is six fish per angler. “That is six fish total, not a daily bag limit,” Boyd said. “A lot of fish go out of this lake illegally and being greedy is going to ruin this fishery.”
Wardens also issued two citations for illegal transport of live fish. Wyoming fishing regulations prohibit the transportation of live fish from the water of capture. All fish must be killed before leaving the lake and cannot be kept alive in live wells. Four citations were also issued to anglers fishing without a license.
Boating violations included underage operation of watercraft; failure to register boat; and failure to provide enough life jackets. Wyoming watercraft regulations require that boats be properly registered and numbered, contain working lights and flame arresters, have proper ventilation, contain a life jacket for every person on board, have mandatory throwable flotation devices, and working fire extinguishers.
I saw this with my own eyes…I was fly fishing in a special regs stream in NOCA and noticed a truck parked nearby with OR plates.
I watched a guy tossing bait and sinker in the fly only water for a while and went looking for somebody with a cell (din’t have one yet).
Went back and started casting just so I could watch the bait guy and he hooked about a 26" or so wild rainbow. Played it quickly over to shore, wrestled with it in the mud and water, his back to me…I think he was pretending to realease it. He’d stuck it down his pants, which was plain to see as he made his way up the hill…I ducked into the bushes where I could see the truck and now a guy about 80 sits up on the seat of the truck, gets out as if pre-arranged, and the poacher retrieves the huge trout from his pants and tosses it alive under the seat and goes back for more.
I could not find anyone with a phone, so in disgust I headed for town to make the call. At that time the toll free poacher line wasn’t worth anything and usually the dispatcher said there wasn’t anyone in the area to check it out, plus they had to be caught in the act, so nothing came of me ending my fishing day to make the call. Oh and btw, these guys were white and presumably very hungry to have driven down from OR to steal wild rainbows from CA.
MontanaMoose
What I find interesting is that these poaching topics always pulls up the race card. No matter what the site. What does it matter where they come from??
A poacher is a poacher no matter where they come from or the language they speak.
I guess I was too subtle.
MontanaMoose